25 Favorite Directors of All Time

Back in September The Movie Lovers podcast counted down our 12 favorite directors of all time. It was a gargantuan task that proved difficult, but also quite rewarding. There’s something really satisfying about discovering who and what your absolute favorites are and having that crystalized.

But it wasn’t enough.

I had spent hours going through lists of legendary directors on the web, previous favorite movie lists I made to see who popped up frequently, brainstorming every director I’ve grown up with or recently admired, pouring over my female directors document (which I hope to one day add to this site) - all to boil this list down. Over 150 names were listed. With those names I listed my favorite movies each directed to come up with some sort of ranking system based on quantity of favorites. To that end, I did not include anthology film chapters, short films, TV, or brief directing stints as representations of their work.

The following list is the result. Often it adheres to that ranking system; sometimes it breaks from that in favor of a gut feeling. The list below is a list that includes directors from the Silent, Golden Age, New Hollywood, Modern and Digital eras. I am not slavishly faithful to any of these directors; even my #1 has made stinkers. But, on the whole, they are the ones I love the most.

Because the list is so long, brevity is key here. So, I give no special context or remarks for any of them. I think, if you’re curious about them the listed works will speak for themselves. You also have IMDb at your fingertips and you can listen to Episode 91 of The Movie Lovers to hear some thoughts on the Top 12, as well as my wife’s picks. But if you haven’t already, check out the works listed. It may add to your understanding of that director’s inclusion on my list.

Let’s start with the Honorable Mentions, those who almost warranted a list of 50, but didn’t quite:

Wes Craven, Chris Colombus, John Hughes, Sidney Lumet, Alfonso Cuaron, Greta Gerwig, Michael Moore, John Carpenter, Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder, Woody Allen, David Fincher (#30 on the list), Richard Donner, Tim Burton, John Landis, J.J. Abrams, and #26 pick Zhang Yimou.

25. Martin Scorsese

Favorite Movies: Goodfellas, The Departed, Hugo

24. Danny Boyle

Favorite Movies: Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours

23. Pete Docter

Favorite Movies: Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out

22. Gurinder Chadha

Favorite Movies: Bend It Like Beckham, Bride & Prejudice, Blinded By the Light

21. Ang Lee

Favorite Movies: Eat Drink Man Woman, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi

20. Penny Marshall

Favorite Movies: Big, Awakenings, A League of Their Own

19. Edgar Wright

Favorite Movies: Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Baby Driver

18. Richard Linklater

Favorite Movies: Before Trilogy, School of Rock, Boyhood

17. James Mangold

Favorite Movies: Cop Land, Identity, Walk the Line, Logan

16. The Coen Bros.

Favorite Movies: The Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, A Serious Man, True Grit

15. Alfred Hitchcock

Favorite Movies: Rear Window, Psycho, North by Northwest, To Catch a Thief

14. Charlie Chaplin

Favorite Movies: The Kid, The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times, Limelight

13. Denis Villeneuve

Favorite Movies: Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049

12. Taika Waititi

Favorite Movies: What We Do in the Shadows, Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit

11. John McTiernan

Favorite Movies: Predator, Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard with a Vengeance

10. Rian Johnson

Favorite Movies: Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Knives Out

9. Akira Kurosawa

Favorite Movies: Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Kagemusha

8. Frank Capra

Favorite Movies: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Arsenic & Old Lace, It’s a Wonderful Life

7. Rob Reiner

Favorite Movies: Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Misery, The American President

6. Robert Zemeckis

Favorite Movies: Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, Contact

5. Cameron Crowe

Favorite Movies: Say Anything…, singles, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous

4. Christopher Nolan

Favorite Movies: Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception

3. Quentin Tarantino

Favorite Movies: Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds, Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood

2. James Cameron

Favorite Movies: Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies

1. Steven Spielberg

Favorite Movies: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Empire of the Sun, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Hook, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan

I hope you enjoyed reading this list as much as I enjoyed crafting it. But I know it isn’t nearly as fun as watching their films.

Who are your favorite directors of all time? I encourage you to craft your own list - maybe after exploring those featured here, if you haven’t already. Feel free to share it at the email link on the bottom of the page.

And be sure to check out all other similar content in the Film Faves section and other podcast episodes related to our favorites of all time.